Chapter 20: Super Fan

Locking his car door and carrying his briefcase, Murphy walked out of the parking lot and glanced around. Unlike the low-rise buildings in downtown Los Angeles, there were skyscrapers and luxurious business centers everywhere here in Century City, the most important commercial and residential area in the western part of Los Angeles. Covering nearly two hundred acres, many film, television, and music companies had offices here.

For example, the famous 20th Century Fox was located at Fox Plaza. Not far away, there was also the dominant Hollywood agency, CAA, also known as Creative Artists Agency.

Anyone with even a slight knowledge of Hollywood knew about the power of this agency. Despite experiencing some turbulence after Michael Ovitz's departure, CAA quickly regained its momentum and expanded rapidly in recent years. It not only dominated more than half of the Hollywood market share but also extended its influence into the sports world.

As Murphy walked towards the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where he had arranged to meet, he couldn't help feeling a headache. He hadn't expected Kobe Bryant's agent to be none other than CAA, a Hollywood giant in the agency business.

Murphy's goal was Hollywood, and stirring up trouble with such a behemoth wasn't a good idea.

However, he had no intention of backing down. What was done was done. Hoping for the best, Murphy knew that dwelling on these thoughts wouldn't change anything. The most practical approach was to try to gain some benefits within reasonable limits.

Before coming here, Murphy had researched CAA on the internet. Just as professional sports had a prominent position in North America, football and NFL were the most important departments in CAA's sports agency field, while basketball and the NBA were less significant.

This might be the only consolation for Murphy.

In reality, he was aware that anyone capable of representing Kobe Bryant's business dealings wouldn't be a fool.

"Things are already set."

Walking up to the entrance of the InterContinental Hotel, Murphy shrugged self-deprecatingly. "I'm just a small, insignificant figure. What's there to be afraid of?"

The worst-case scenario would only involve a confrontation, and as a small player, he didn't have much to lose anyway.

Entering the hotel lobby, Murphy approached a waiter and asked. Then, he took the escalator to the second floor and found the café where they had agreed to meet. Without any hesitation, he walked in confidently.

"Is Mr. Leon Ross here?" Murphy asked the waiter.

"And you are?" The waiter looked at him, and Murphy quickly replied, "Murphy Stanton, meeting with Mr. Leon Ross."

The waiter gestured for him to follow and led the way. Following behind, Murphy reached the left side of the café, separated by a large partition of greenery. From a distance, he saw a middle-aged man and a young woman sitting behind the partition, seemingly engaged in a quiet conversation.

The man was dressed in a well-fitted suit, with a meticulously tied tie around his neck. On the left side of the coffee table lay a pair of sunglasses. In Los Angeles, especially in Beverly Hills, seeing someone dressed like this meant they were likely an agent.

The woman on the other side appeared to be around twenty-five years old and seemed to be his assistant.

Not finding the basketball superstar here wasn't surprising. It was enough to have the agent present in such situations.

Approaching the table, the other party showed no intention of standing up, just looked up to assess him. Murphy, without any hesitation, sat down on the chair opposite and said to the waiter, "A latte, please."

The agent remained focused on him and, after the waiter left, initiated the conversation. "Murphy Stanton, Los Angeles native, freelance journalist, recently released from a year of imprisonment, now collaborating with Fox Los Angeles TV Station Channel 6."

Since he was already here, Murphy had no more reservations. "You've done your research thoroughly."

Leon Ross calmly responded, "Because we are CAA!"

His confidence exuded an aura of invincibility, as if CAA was an immovable mountain.

In front of Murphy, CAA wasn't just a mountain; it was a whole range. But small players had their advantages too.

Since arriving here, Leon Ross had maintained a dominating advantage, both in demeanor and speech. But Murphy didn't engage in his talk.

Opening his briefcase, Murphy took out a storage disk and pushed it towards Leon Ross.

Actions spoke louder than words in negotiations like these. Murphy didn't need to say much now. As long as he held the photos in his hand, he had enough leverage.

The female assistant retrieved a laptop, connected the storage disk, and Leon Ross looked at the images appearing on the screen. His expression remained unchanged, as if these pictures were nothing out of the ordinary.

With his hands folded, Murphy quietly observed the other side, maintaining his composure.

"Is this all?" After presumably going through all the photos, Leon Ross smirked dismissively. "These don't prove anything. It's normal for a superstar like Kobe to have female fans."

At this moment, the waiter brought the coffee. After he left, Leon Ross lifted his coffee cup and took a sip, neither hurried nor slow. "Young man, be cautious in your actions. Don't be too greedy. Kobe is a hero in this city. Whatever happens, most people will stand by his side."

Hearing this, Murphy instinctively touched his face. It was evident that Leon Ross didn't regard him highly, probably considering him just a lucky young man.

But Murphy continued, "As a fan of Kobe myself, a die-hard one, I was also surprised to capture these images. That's why my first instinct was to approach Mr. Bryant rather than sell the photos to the media. I admire Kobe's on-court persona and appreciate his contributions to this city. Superstars like Kobe also rely on a good public image."

Leon Ross nodded subtly, recognizing that the young man in front of him was more knowledgeable than he seemed. The words Murphy spoke highlighted the potential consequences if the photos were leaked.

If Kobe Bryant were like Rodman, Leon Ross wouldn't be worried. But Kobe's public image was too pristine to withstand such scrutiny, especially from sponsors. Any issue with sponsors could result in losses amounting to millions of dollars.

However, he wasn't ready to compromise easily; he had to suppress Murphy's bargaining chips at least.

"Don't forget, you're dealing with CAA!" Leon Ross declared forcefully. "The mainstream media are all our partners!"